I Obtained the Final Boss' Power

Chapter 127 : Great Hero (4)

Great Hero (4)

Among the elves, there existed the concept of elders—those with exceptional lineage.

Among elves, they were no different from nobles or royalty, and thus wielded immense authority within the village.

This treatment continued outside the village as well, and they even maintained a close relationship with the royal family of the Holy Nation.

The authority they possessed as elders was not simply due to their fine bloodline.

They were special elves recognized by the Great Mage, the Hero who once vanquished the calamity beast, the Chaos Dragon.

The descendants of those elders continued to bear the influence of the ritual their ancestor had once received from the Great Mage.

That was the authority to manage the World Tree.

Countless people coveted the World Tree, known as the source of life.

Therefore, the Great Mage Mirianne designated that only the elders could manage the World Tree.

"O World Tree, the center of the world."

"Please, grant our wishes."

Even now, the elves who possessed this authority tended to the World Tree.

On the rooftop of a building that stood attached to the World Tree, soaring like a mountain, five elders gathered and stood in a circle around a magic array.

Upon this array was a large altar, and upon the altar lay numerous spirit stones.

"With this power, we shall regain eternal strength once more."

"Grant us hope."

"We shall once again possess the immense strength of those days."

As the elders chanted, the spirit stones on the altar began to emit light.

Soon, all the spirit stones became particles of light and were absorbed by the World Tree.

What seeped into the World Tree was not ordinary spirit stones, but sacred stones far superior.

"With this, we have offered all of this month's sacred stones."

"Fortunately, it seems we can avoid having it wither."

The elders sighed in relief, as if they had survived a crisis.

In reality, their regular offerings of strength to the World Tree were not particularly meaningful acts.

That was because the World Tree was already a lifeless tree.

"If it so much as showed signs of withering, we would be under suspicion. That we must avoid at all costs."

The idea of the supposedly eternal World Tree's branches withering would sound absurd to the public.

Yet it was all true.

The elders were making offerings of sacred stones to the World Tree to cover up that fact—to make it appear as though the World Tree was still alive.

"How is the collection of the development fund going?"

"As usual. We've locked up all the migrants unable to pay in the underground cells."

"It seems there are more citizens failing to pay this time. Given how precariously we maintained the sacred stones, it's obvious."

What they called the development fund was exactly what they paid to obtain sacred stones.

Those unable to pay would be forced to create sacred stones themselves in underground labor camps.

In the end, if you had no money, you had to pay with your body.

"Usually, among the migrants, there are many nobles. They would have obediently handed over 50 gold, but recently that seems not to be the case."

"I too have seen more of those migrants lately. The more I think about it, the more foolish they seem."

One elder twisted his lips in a sly smile.

"One came up to me, grabbed me by the collar, and shouted about how 50 gold a month was outrageous."

"Is that true? What an ungrateful wretch."

An elder holding a sword slammed it into the ground and rebuked him.

"They only got to move here because of us, and 50 gold a month is a cheap price to repay that favor, isn't it?"

"That's not all. Didn't several underground workers recently try to escape? We gave them the chance to work, and look at what they do."

Naturally, if people couldn't pay the development fund, jobs would be provided instead.

Though they had become members of the village, it was a waste simply to evict them.

Even after arranging proper work, how dare they refuse?

"What are they saying now?"

"The usual. That it's exhausting, the food is insufficient, they have no time to rest, their bodies are breaking down."

"So consistent."

"And now they're making a fuss that we don't pay them wages."

No matter how hard they worked, none of the money went to them.

People usually demand payment for their labor, but the elders provided something else instead.

"Wages? Hahaha! Why would they need money when we already give them better than that?"

"We've already provided them with food and, more importantly, something more valuable."

What could be more important than money? Their lives.

"If not for this place, they would have died. Most migrants came here because their families collapsed or they were fleeing from someone."

"Now that I think of it, you're right. We've 'protected' their lives here in this village."

The elven village was inaccessible without meeting specific conditions.

Thus, it wasn't wrong to say they were protected from the outside.

"To still ask for money while we are keeping them alive."

"Besides, most of them are from the Kilvus Empire."

"As expected, nothing but uncultured brutes come from the Empire. After dealing with monsters all day, it seems even their brains have turned monstrous! Hahahaha!"

When one elder burst into laughter, another—in priestly garb—shook his head and spoke.

"Don't be too harsh on them. As much as they're uneducated, they're pitiful and deserve sympathy rather than scorn."

"True, seen that way, they are pitiful."

"We inherited Mirianne's wisdom and realized great truths, but they never even had such an opportunity."

It was Mirianne who first established the concept of elder authority. Thanks to her wisdom in the past, the present elders existed.

"If she hadn't been there, we would be just ordinary elves. And we would never be performing magic or rituals like this."

Even the ritual just now, offering sacred stones, was possible only as they could use magic. Only they could perform it.

"The sacred stones we just offered must have reached Mirianne, who lies within the World Tree. May glory be upon Mirianne."

As the priestly elder offered a prayer, the sword-wielding elf seemed to remember something.

"Now that I think about it, there were some smart migrants from the Empire."

"You mean the family who invented the sacred stone-making machine?"

"Yes. The Weissman family."

The Weissman family had done the elves a great service.

During the demonkin war, their family head protected the elves, and family members together researched technology to make sacred stones.

"They were going to become migrants themselves but are now doing well in the capital of the Holy Nation."

"They had great achievements, and above all, the best talent from Weissman is now under our 'protection.'"

That talent is surely still in the underground labor camp, being whipped by elf soldiers and making sacred stones.

While most die after making only a few sacred stones, that talent did not die even after making dozens.

That was because he had once been the empire's strongest knight and had a formidable body.

"By the way, why hasn't Rondalph shown up yet?"

"Now that you mention it, he still isn't here."

There should have been six elders, not five. The missing one was mostly in charge of security.

He was the one who woke up at dawn to manage things, so he should have been out before the others.

"He's never been late before."

"We even went ahead with the ritual without him because he hadn't shown for so long."

"I overused my magic thanks to him. Why is he suddenly slacking off?"

Just then, as some elders complained, an elf soldier came up onto the rooftop.

"Report for the elders, sirs!"

In response to the elders' questions, the soldier replied.

"Elder Rondalph... has summoned you, elders."

"What?"

"Why's he suddenly...?"

"Elder Rondalph is calling you to the underground labor camp."

Why, all of a sudden? He wasn't part of the critical ritual, and now he was calling them—this made the elders suspicious.

"So why is he calling us?"

"That... you will understand once you go there yourselves."

"......"

Had the sun risen in the west?

The elders were uneasy at Rondalph's uncharacteristic behavior.

Was there a major problem? A laborer revolt?

'That's impossible.'

Such a thing couldn't happen here.

The laborers could not even think of running away, let alone rebelling.

'We made them eat plenty of the World Tree's fruit, after all.'

After the World Tree became a dead tree, they researched ways to revive it—only for unexpected results.

The fruit of the World Tree had the effect of driving those who ate it insane.

'Besides, the World Tree is a tree of wisdom. It's possible to devise all sorts of spells with it.'

In the past, they even devised blueprints for weapons to subjugate the Chaos Dragon using that wisdom.

The tree may be dead, but as it still contained magic power, its wisdom could be partially replicated.

'Of course, not at the level of when it was alive.'

But this was enough to create unique means to control the laborers—the fruit was thought to be one, the other was the spell that sealed magic and aura.

'Of course, as elders, we are unaffected by the World Tree's spells.'

No matter how brilliant a mage or knight, without magic power or aura, they were mere ordinary people.

No one could escape, and no one could resist.

'That should all be true, and yet...'

Feeling strange, the elders followed the elf soldier's lead.

They had nothing to be at a disadvantage for, so why this mounting anxiety?

"Rondalph!"

By then, the elders had arrived at the labor camp.

But there, the work that should have been in progress was utterly halted.

Laborers were resting in the corners, and the soldiers meant to watch them were lying collapsed for some reason.

"What... is this!"

And among those bleeding soldiers lay Rondalph, standing.

"What's going on! Why is the labor camp in such a state?"

"Don't tell me you did this?"

If work was paused, a reason could be given, but there was no excuse for the soldiers being killed.

The elders, by instinct, felt even more uneasy.

"Guys..."

It was then.

"This is a trap..."

Fwoosh!—

A hole suddenly appeared in the stomach of the elf soldier who'd guided the elders there.

A boy, his hand thrust right through the soldier from behind, brushed the corpse aside, revealing himself.

"That's right. It's a trap."

The elders were immediately on guard at the sight of an unknown boy killing a soldier.

Just as anxiety shifted to vigilance, the sword-wielding elder cloaked his blade in aura.

Swaak!―

In an instant, the aura-coated sword swung at the boy's neck.

The slash cleaved through the air and even cut deep into the massive underground wall, the force of it enough to carve a cliff.

"Oww..."

But the boy was perfectly fine.

"Shouldn't have tried to catch it with my teeth."

The sword swung by the elder had lost its blade.

The broken blade was clenched between the boy's teeth.

"Uh...?"

The elder was dumbfounded—the strike had been stopped by nothing but the boy's teeth.

"What, did you think only you could use magic power and felt safe?"

The boy chewed the broken blade like candy—crunch!—and spoke.

And as they sensed the magic power exuding from him, the elders' jaws dropped in unison.

"Now that my magic power's back, I can hear your heartbeats loud and clear. I should thank that Great Mage lady later."

"What do you—"

!!!――

At that moment, powerful magic power was felt. The elders' whole bodies froze.

Where that overwhelming magic was radiating, a woman stood.

"More importantly, you're in real trouble now."

Even in the face of that magic power, the boy spoke nonchalantly.

"If you're going to apologize, now's your only chance."

She, without a word, sheathed that immense magic power into her sword.

In a flash, the magic turned to aura and began to target the elders with deadly intent.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Author-nim really knows how to make the villains hateable...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】